Golf swing analysis method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for analyzing a golf swing. In particular, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for analyzing a golf swing utilizing a portable computing device such as a smart phone, wherein a golfer can wear the device and the device uses sensors to monitor swing motion, and more particularly monitor a golfer&#39;s hip mechanics during a golf swing.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and incorporates by referenceU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/668,090 filed on Jul. 5, 2012.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for analyzing a golfswing. In particular, the invention relates to a method and apparatusfor analyzing a golf swing utilizing a portable computing device such asa smart phone, wherein a golfer can wear the device and the device usessensors to monitor swing motion, and more particularly monitor agolfer's hip mechanics during a golf swing. Of course, a person ofordinary skill in the art will understand that the invention is notnecessarily so limited.

2. Background of the Invention

Golf is an extremely popular sport worldwide. The popularity stems froma variety of reasons, including the difficulty of the game. Golfers ofall levels enjoy the challenge of the game, which requires developmentof both athletic ability and mental acuity.

Improvement in golf requires some sort of a feedback mechanism. Thegolfer has to have a way to evaluate whether changes to the swing causea positive or negative impact. Feedback can take many forms, but anyfeedback system that relies solely on a golfer's subjective evaluationof the swing is inherently flawed. A golfer cannot see their swing, andso has no real way to be sure what they are doing.

For this and other reasons, golf instruction is very helpful. Not onlycan a professional instructor more easily spot flaws in a golfers swing,they can visually evaluate progress toward correction. The drawback ofthis approach is that the feedback ends when the lesson ends.

Once the instruction period has ended, the golfer is generally on theirown again in terms of evaluating progress, which of course forces thegolfer to rely on mostly subjective evaluation criteria.

Video swing analysis is similarly useful in the feedback progress, andvideo systems exist that can be used to evaluate swing mechanics inoutdoor real-time environments. Modern smart phones, and the like, canbe used to photograph or take video of a golf swing, and the player canthen use the results to gauge performance.

This approach, however, still suffers from a number of drawbacks. Itnormally requires two people to utilize these tools—one to hold andoperate the device, and the other to be the subject of the analysis.Most golfers practice by themselves and therefore do not have theability to easily use video. Secondly, video is a purely visualevaluation tool, which has to be interpreted by the golfer—therebyreintroducing subjectivity into the process. Video allows the golfer tosee what they are doing, but it does not necessarily help themunderstand what they are doing. In other words, it is one thing to seesomething it is entirely another thing to appreciate the significance ofwhat you are seeing.

Video does not provide objective feedback, because the results stillneed to be subjectively evaluated. The feedback loop has still not beenclosed.

Accordingly, a need exists for an improved apparatus and method toprovide a golfer with an objective means to evaluate their golf swing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatusand method for a golfer to objectively evaluate their golf swing.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon reference to the following specification,drawings, and claims. To that end, the present invention comprises amethod and apparatus read the break in a surface and adjust aimaccordingly. The method utilizes a mobile computing device positionednear a golfer's hips, wherein the mobile computing device has internalaccelerometers that measure acceleration in three perpendicular axes.The golfer takes a swing at a golf ball. The mobile computing device'smicrophone listens for the sound of the impact of the golf ball and thegolf club. The mobile computing device's accelerometers and internallogic to determine one or more of the following: a backswing hip angle;the point in time at which the back swing hip angle is reached; animpact hip angle taken at the time of impact of the golf ball; and thegolf club as determined by the mobile computing device's microphone; thepoint in time at which the impact hip angle is reached; a follow throughhip angle; the point in time at which the follow through hip angle isreached; and hip acceleration and deceleration through the golf swing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a swing list screen shot.

FIG. 2 shows a swing animation screen shot.

FIG. 3 shows a swing chart and graph screen shot.

FIG. 4 shows a swing animation and comparison screen shot.

FIG. 5 shows a swing chart and graph comparison screen shot.

FIG. 6 shows a decision model block diagram

FIG. 7 shows an axis motion diagram.

FIG. 8 shows composite view of a golf swing.

FIG. 9 shows an address detection algorithm.

FIG. 10 shows a backswing detection algorithm.

FIG. 11 shows a swing disqualification check diagram.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the Figures, is shown a mobile device application that measures agolfer's hip mechanics during a golf swing to provide precise andrelevant information back to the golfer. In particular, the device is asmart phone and more particular a smart phone running the Apple OS orAndroid operating system, or other similar systems and related devices.Of course, the invention is not necessarily so limited.

The swing analysis and resulting feedback and metrics informationsubstantially overcomes the limitations of prior art device applicationsthat rely on video or detached wireless sensors to record swing motionbecause of the following advantages:

-   -   The present invention determines the impact point of the club        and ball via sound detection using the device microphone.        Specifically, the following swing metrics are dependent on        measuring the point of ball impact:        -   Impact hip angle        -   Tempo        -   Hip acceleration and deceleration        -   Lateral motion    -   Real time swing recognition is continuous requiring no prompts        or countdown sequences to tell a golfer when to swing.    -   Address position can change to allow the golfer to aim at        various targets without affecting alignment, resulting turn        angle metrics, or requiring any manipulation of the device.    -   Only valid swings that meet motion, timing, impact, and        acceleration rules are recorded, and validity is determined by        the device.    -   Uses device hardware capabilities of sound, vibration, and        visual display to provide immediate feedback for each recorded        swing.    -   Uses the mobile device motion sensors and gyroscope to measure        the following aspects of a golf swing:        -   Back swing turn hip angle        -   Ball impact hip angle        -   Follow through hip angle        -   Max hip speed        -   Tempo: ratio of timing from start to top and top to impact        -   Hip angular velocity        -   Hip acceleration and deceleration        -   Lateral motion        -   Tilt    -   Analysis of recorded swings is presented through three different        visual displays using bright color contrasts to be visible        outdoors        -   Swing Animation—The swing animation displays the 3 hip            angles listed above through an animated model.        -   Swing Graph—The graph displays hip speed over time and            reveals hip angular acceleration and deceleration, timing at            top, impact, and finish, and the top speed point during the            swing        -   Swing List—This resembles a spreadsheet by listing the data            associated with multiple swings to allow a user to quickly            compare the numbers. The swing list is a mechanism to            determine consistency and identify outliers.    -   Provides meaningful objective metrics and measurements for        golfers of all skill levels.    -   Support for rapid experimentation of different hip motions and        tempo and their resulting affect on shot shape (straight, fade,        draw, push, pull, slice, hook).    -   Allows golfer to save swings to a Favorites list and using these        swings for future reference.    -   Allows golfer to save a swing as a Baseline for use as a future        comparison to other swings. The ability to save swing metrics        for good and bad shots is key to the golfer's ability to later        adjust hip mechanics to achieve desired results.    -   Tag recorded swings with descriptions, club selection, swing        type, and shot shape.        The following describes the operation of the device software in        performing various tasks.    -   Recording Swings        Recording Swings is achieved by:        1. Pressing the record button to begin motion sensor sampling        and start the swing recognition algorithm.        2. Placing the device firmly and securely on or near the hips    -   a. In a front or back pocket    -   b. By tucking it between the pant waistband or belt and the        waist    -   c. In a holder that clips on the pant waistband or belt    -   d. Using a waist strap designed to hold the device        3. Taking one or more swings

Device holders that clip on a belt and straps that go around a waist aregenerally available from a number of retailers.

-   -   Analysis and Resulting Feedback

Each recorded swing can be analyzed through the application views thatshow a swing list spreadsheet, an animation, a chart and graph, and incomparison to another recorded swing used as a baseline. The swing listview is depicted in FIG. 1. This view allows the golfer to view theanalytic information in a list. The view shows a previously capturedbaseline swing displaying (from left to right) the back swing hip angle,impact hip angle, follow through hip angle, tempo ratio, and maximum hipspeed in degrees per second. Also, displayed are comments included atagline (“Nice 1”), swing type (“Full”), and club (“Driver”).

Below the baseline entry is the same information for three recordedswings, which can be easily viewed in comparison to the baseline swinganalytics. The list view also allows you to view any favorite swingsthat have been stored in the system. At the bottom of the screen,options are available to clear the entries, record new swings, post theinformation to email or social media, and an information icon.

FIG. 2 shows the swing animation view for any particular view selectedby the golfer. This view shows a 360° top down view of the golfer toview an animation of the swing from start to finish. The view also showsa two dimensional graph of the swing where the x-axis represents time,and the y-axis hip rotation angle (0° line represents the addressposition, negative angles represent the back swing and the beginningportion of the down swing, and positive angles represent the remainderof the down swing and follow through). In FIG. 2, the back swing hipangle is shown (“−46°”), the impact hip angle (“23°”), follow throughhip angle (“68°”), and the hip angle at the point of maximum hip speed(“3°”). The impact point is shown with the dotted line.

FIG. 3 shows the swing chart and graph view, which in addition to theinformation shown in the other views shows the with the additional graphline the acceleration and deceleration profile, as well as the points intime acceleration and deceleration peak.

FIG. 4 show the swing animation comparison screen, which allows thegolfer to select two swings to compare in the animation view.

When a swing is animated, the primary animation is played in parallelwith the swing graph. The purpose is to align the two aspects of thedata to enable a user to properly analyze a swing. The graph animationis important because it reveals the point of hip stabilization anddeceleration where kinetic energy is transferred from the hips to theupper torso and arms, which ultimately effects club head speed. Thistransfer of energy represents provides great insight into a user'sability to generate swing power.

The golf coach can use the application during the lesson to identify andtag a baseline swing. This allows the coach to prescribe motion and thetype of practice that a student should be doing. A coach would want tosave both a student's best shot to aspire to and poor shots thatexemplify common pitfalls and errors. Identifying both good and badshots will enable the student to recognize what types of movementsimpact the quality of the shot during practice.

FIG. 5 shows the swing chart and graph comparison, which compares twoswings using the chart view format.

The present invention supports the use of social media. Once a golferhas constructed a list of swings, he has the ability email or post theswings on Facebook natively in the application through a button click(see the rectangle/arrow icon at the bottom right of FIGS. 1-5). Thereare two different things that a user can post—an individual swinganimation, and the swing list. The place that these elements are postedwill vary based on whether the golfer has identified a coach. If a coachhas not been identified, the element will be posted on the user'sFacebook wall. If a coach has been identified, the element will beposted on the coach's wall. In both circumstances, the user will betagged in the swing to ensure it shows up in various news feeds forothers to see. This aspect benefits both the golfer and the golf coach,by further closing the feedback loop.

For the golfer, posting an element on Facebook is the primary mechanismin which to close the feedback loop with the golf coach between lessons.When a new golfer is going through a series of lessons to improve swingmechanics, the golfer will typically see an initial degradation inconsistency, which results in frustration. During this phase ofretooling swing mechanics, it is critically important to keep the newgolfer actively engaged with the golf coach to ensure proper practicetechniques and the likelihood of the golfer returning for anotherlesson, and to prevent the golfer from misinterpreting the negativeresults and making unrelated changes that compound the problems. Bothwin in this scenario because the golfer has increased odds of improvingtheir swing mechanics, and the golf coach is awarded with continuedbusiness. Not only can a user post swings on Facebook but they can alsobe emailed to a coach as well.

There is also an embedded feature inside the application that enables auser to seek out certified instructors from a list provided from acompetent source. If a user is having problems with his swing, therewill be a button inside the application that enables a user to send theswing to a nearby certified coach for analysis. A coach who is trying todevelop additional business can then elect to respond to a request as anew business development mechanism. Certified instructors are searchablein the application and associated to the user account as theirinstructor. This enables easy posting of swings to the coach's Facebookwall. When posted, the swing will show the coaches name in theanimation/swing fingerprint picture. When a swing is posted to a coach'swall, the user will be automatically tagged in the swing to get theswing to show up in the user's newsfeed.

Accompanying the application are education resources to aid a user withthe journey of swing improvements. An important topic is, a “now what?”feature. It is one thing when a trained golf professional is using theapplication to walk a user through the interpretation of the data; it isanother thing to draw a user into the application without the presenceof a golf professional. When a first time user uses the application,they will need assistance in understanding and applying the informationprovided, therefore, it will be important to guide them through what todo next. The first step toward this end is intuitive design; the nextstep is education resources. This all is designed to convert theapplication objective analytical data into the golfers' personal swingknowledge. In FIG. 6, is a practice and decision model that willtranslate the data to an actionable practice method.

Another benefit of the present invention is its ability to objectivelyand automatically perform swing recognition, through in particular theuse of device hardware. The swing recognition algorithm makes use ofmobile device hardware including the motion sensor and accelerometer,the system clock and its timer capabilities, and the system audiomicrophone and speaker components.

As shown in FIG. 7, the swing recognition algorithm uses the motionsensor to obtain 3-axis motion data that includes

-   -   Pitch—rotation around the X axis    -   Roll—rotation around the Y axis    -   Yaw—rotation around the Z axis

These angles are also known as Euler angles and each represents degreesof rotation around an axis. From a selected reference angle set,subsequent angle data defines the number of degrees and direction thedevice has moved along each axis.

The swing recognition algorithm detects the impact point using thedevice microphone and sampling for a spike in peak volume. Therecognizer must be able to choose the correct impact point from multiplepossible sounds from various sources such as other golfers hitting ballsnearby, a loud voice, or a car horn in the background.

The device speaker is used to signal the successful swing recognition tothe golfer by playing a short sound like a beep or ping.

When the device is secured to a golfer's hip, motion changes are sampledup to 60 times per second by accessing the system clock a timercomponents. As the hips turn and tilt during a golf swing, the motiondata is used to detect the following distinct motion segments of a golfswing (all described in reference to the panels shown in FIG. 8):

1. A swing always starts with an address position during which motion isstill or minimal (FIG. 8 panel #1)

2. The backswing starts with a backward turn motion that continues itsdirection until the top or transition point at the start of the downswing. Turn speed and acceleration during the backswing segment arerelatively slow compared with speed and acceleration of the downswing.(FIG. 8 panel #5)

3. The downswing is the start of forward motion from the top of thebackswing. Turn speed and acceleration increase rapidly. Impact of theclub head with the golf ball happens during the downswing, normally justafter the hips pass their position at address. (FIG. 8 panel #9)

4. The swing finish is a continuation of the downswing past impact. Turnspeed and acceleration slow from their downswing peak. At the finish,motion is still or minimal. (FIG. 8 panel #12)

Swing recognition by the application relies on key device hardwarecomponents available on most presently available smart phones, as wellas other similarly enabled computing devices such as small tabletcomputers.

The swing recognition algorithm samples motion data from the device upto 60 times per second. For each timer interval, the new motion data iscompared to the last data. The changes, or deltas, in degrees anddirection around each axis can determine the motion direction, speed,acceleration, tilt, and sway, which allows for identification of swingsegments.

The application makes defines reference angles to allow for detection ofswing segments. From a selected reference angle set, subsequent angledata defines the number of degrees and direction the device has movedalong each axis. The swing algorithm sets reference angles at the startof the motion sampling. During swing recognition, reference angles arereset frequently when periods of still motion are detected.

The motion data must be modified depending on the device orientation.The swing recognizer works properly regardless of orientation. Thedevice can be in portrait mode with it top up or down. It can also be inlandscape mode on its right or left side. The recognizer does not workwhen the device is face up or face down.

In portrait orientations, the recognizer uses the Y axis roll angles totrack motion. With the device on either side in landscape orientation,the recognizer uses the X axis pitch angles.

FIG. 9 depicts a flow diagram for the address segment of the swing. Aswing always starts with an address position during which motion isstill or minimal. The golfer can change alignment to a target withoutaffect on the algorithm or the resulting swing metric data. This ispossible because the algorithm resets the reference angles whenever asequence of still motion samples are detected. Movements in eitherdirection, forward or backward, are determined to be still if the changeof motion is less than a threshold of about 0.5 degrees. About 25continuous still motion samplings will cause a reset of the referenceangles. The number of still motions and the threshold are configurable,and can be varied based on experimentation.

The golf swing is considered to be in the address segment whenevercontinuous motion sampling is still or the reference angles have justbeen reset. The exception is if still motion is showing contiguousmovements in the same direction, this is purposeful motion as opposed torandom motion, which changes direction in no discernable pattern.Purposeful motion is allowed to continue past the still motion thresholdand the angles are not reset. This allows the swing recognizer toaccurately calculate the start of the backswing segment.

The Backswing Segment flow diagram is shown in FIG. 10. The backswingstarts with a backward turn motion that continues its direction untilthe top or transition point at the start of the down swing. Turn speedand acceleration during the backswing segment are relatively slowcompared with speed and acceleration of the downswing.

Every motion sample during each timer interval is tested for direction.Backswing direction is opposite for left or right-handed swings. Theswing recognizer determines left or right swings by the direction of thebackswing segment indicated by positive or negative angle data from themotion sensor. The backswing segment directional recognition algorithmis the same for either backward or forward direction.

If the direction is the same as the previous motion sample then thedirectional continuity counter is incremented. A valid backswing segmentwill have a minimum number of continuous directional motions. Thedirectional continuity minimum threshold is tested. There must also bepurposeful continuous motion that has minimal still motion samplings.Too much still motion will cause a reset of the reference angles, whichstops the current swing recognition and starts it over from thebeginning. Directional movement that reaches the minimum continuitythreshold with purposeful motion qualifies as a backswing segment. Turnspeed, direction change counts, maximum speed, segment time, and totalturn angles are among the metrics variables tracked.

Once the backswing segment is valid, further backward motions add to itslength. Subsequent forward motions do not invalidate the backswingsegment. This allows for some sway at the top of the backswing.

If the direction has changed, directions from the previous forwardmotion sample:

1. A possible swing finish is determined it both a valid backswing anddownswing (forward swing) segments.

2. A new backswing start is begun if preceding backward motions did notestablish a valid backswing segment.

Variables that track directional continuity, possible finish segmentposition, new backswing segment start, speed, angles, tilt, sway, andtime are all updated.

A valid backswing segment can become invalid if its continuity is toolong so a check is performed to see if the continuity is below themaximum.

Another step in the process is the swing qualification processing, whichis valid for the back swing and the down swing segments. Every motionsample is also tested for the existence of both a valid backward andforward segment; the two key motion segments that form the swing. Oncethese are in place, a short series of backward motions that are still(movement below the still motion threshold), constitute the swing finishsegment. At this point, with all four swing segments identified, theswing is qualified and the algorithm proceeds to a series of checks thatmight yet disqualify it. These checks are described below in the SwingRecognition Disqualifiers section (also shown in FIG. 11).

The down swing segment is not described. The downswing is the start offorward motion from the top of the backswing. Turn speed andacceleration increase rapidly. Impact of the club head with the golfball happens during the downswing, normally just after the hips passtheir original position at address.

The recognition algorithm for Motion Direction Processing as well asSwing Qualification Processing for the downswing segment is identical tothat of the backswing segment. The motion data can start in eitherdirection depending on the golfer swinging right or left handed. Theright-handed backswing motion data is the same direction as theleft-handed downswing, and vice versa. Refer to The Backswing Segmentsection for the algorithm.

The downswing segment must have one important attribute not present inthe backswing segment: an impact point when the club hits the golf ball.This processing is described in the next section.

The swing recognition algorithm detects all possible impact points usingthe device microphone and sampling for a spike in peak volume. Therecognizer must be able to choose the correct impact point from multiplepossible sounds from various sources such as other golfers hitting ballsnearby, a loud voice, or a car horn in the background.

The microphone is sampled up to four times during each motion sampling.At 60 motion samplings per second and 4 sound samplings per motion, thesound level is checked up to 240 times per second. This is important toensure accuracy of the impact point since it is key to determining theimpact hip turn angle, the impact timing and swing tempo, anddeceleration at impact.

Impact points are analyzed and validated during the motion sampling.Impact points during the address, backswing, and finish segments are notvalid. Only impact points that occur during the downswing segment arevalid. All valid impact points are saved in an array. Placement positionin the array is done so that the most qualified and likely impact pointis in the array's first position. Placement is determined by thesefactors:

1. A new impact point does not replace an existing point if it is withinfour motion sampling intervals of the existing point. The sound of animpact can register a peak sound level over several motion samples.

2. If the peak sound (loudness) of a new impact point is greater than anexisting point, the new point can replace the existing point.

3. If a new impact point is in a valid expected hip turn range of 10 to40 degrees, the new point can replace an existing point that is not inthe expected range.

The finish segment is now described. The swing finish is a continuationof the downswing past impact. Turn speed and acceleration slow fromtheir downswing peak. At the finish, motion is still or minimal. Thefinish segment begins when the downswing segment reaches its end andchanges direction or becomes still for a short series of motion samplingintervals, around eight such intervals. This allows for either a smoothfinish that just slows to a stop or a finish that slows but then quicklychanges direction into a recoiling motion.

Detection of the finish segment ensures only that all four swingsegments have been identified. The swing is qualified such that is hasmotion that forms the four segments. However, motion alone does notdetermine a valid swing. For example, a swing in very slow motion canproduce the four motion segments, but it would lack sufficient speed,acceleration, and timing to be recognized as a valid swing.Additionally, a practice swing might otherwise qualify, but it lackimpact.

To achieve qualification as a valid swing, the algorithm proceeds to aseries of checks that might disqualify it. These checks are describedbelow.

Once all four swing segments have been identified, the swing recognizermakes a series of tests that all valid golf swings must pass. Failure ofany one of these tests disqualifies the potential swing and restarts theswing recognition algorithm to the start. Each disqualification test isdescribed below (see also FIG. 11).

1. Did the swing achieve the minimum required speed? This rules out veryslow motion swings that had no real speed or significant acceleration.This also eliminates random motion the golfer might make between swings.

2. Did the swing achieve the minimum required turn angle? A valid swingmust have a backward turn then a forward turn. The sum of these turnsmust be a minimum number of degrees. This rules out small swings likechips or putts, or just random motion between swings; waggles, halfturns, and small back and forth motions.

3. Did the device orientation stay consistent during the swing? Theorientation when the reference angles are set must stay the same throughthe swing finish. Otherwise, motion data angles for pitch and roll maybe confused.

4. Did the swing complete within a time limit? Most golf swings takeabout 2 seconds from start to finish. Any time more than 4.5 secondsindicates random motion that could be going on after the four motionsegments have been completed.

5. Did the swing contain at least one impact point? A valid swingwithout impact is just a practice swing.

6. Did the backswing turn and downswing turn both complete within theirturn limits?

A real golf swing has normal and reasonable turns in both directions.Excessive turns, full circles, and other wild turn movement disqualifythe swing.

7. Did the downswing pass or cross the position at address? A validswing must turn back then forward past the address position facing theball.

8. Did the swing achieve top speed during the downswing? Top speed isnormally just before or after impact. A swing that has its top speedduring the backswing is not a real golf swing.

A valid swing that has passed all the disqualification tests is ready tobe processed as a real recorded swing. Steps to create the recordedswing follow.

-   -   Recording is suspended while the swing is created and saved.        This stops the motion sensor time interval samplings and        analysis.    -   The golfer is notified that a swing has been recorded via sound        and vibration.    -   A golf swing object is created    -   The reference angle data and all other motion data points that        construct the swing motion segments are transferred from an        internal buffer to an array property of the golf swing object.        Each data point contains the Euler angles for pitch, roll, and        yaw, a timestamp, speed or roll motion, and indication of        whether the data point is before or after impact.    -   Speed values of each data point are adjusted based on actual        time rather than the timer interval constant, since the system        does not always invoked the timer on exact timer intervals.        Devices such as smart phones are not dedicated real-time devices        and are subject to interruptions and delays from other        applications running in the background. Phone calls and other        types of alerts also affect the timer interval.    -   The impact angle is adjusted two ways:        -   To allow for the time variance for the sound to travel from            the club and ball to the device. This reduces the impact            angle slightly.        -   To allow for which of the four sound samplings taken during            the impact motion sensor interval actually recorded the            impact. These happen at different times during the interval.            This reduces the impact angle slightly if the first sound            sample found impact, and increases the impact angle slightly            if the 2^(nd), 3^(rd), or 4^(th) sound sample detected the            impact.    -   The swing is saved with the golfer's profile and written to the        disk.    -   Recording is resumed which begins the motion sensor time        interval samplings and analysis.

The swing recognition algorithm resets the reference angles and beginsanalyzing motion samples to define address, backswing, downswing, andfinish segments for the next swing.

Features in the application offer the student multiple options whencapturing and analyzing data at any point in the learning process. Forexample if a student is a beginner or a scratch golfer, learning a newmotor skill, there are specific functions built in to the application toguide efficient learning and practice. There are also different modesthat give feedback based on learning styles and preferences. Theanimation mode gives the student multiple layers of data using color anddesign. The data is displayed with an animated diagram that can beslowed or paused to analyze any element in the swing. Data like speed,acceleration, deceleration, rotation, tempo, hip angles a can becompared against other swings in multiple formats in a side-by-sidemode. The chart mode shows the data in an animated graph format. Thespreadsheet mode not only shows hip data it can also display patternrecognition, timestamps, notes, tags and give an efficiency rating formost of the data. Each mode will serve a specific purpose for the userdepending on their individual intentions. When a student is practicing anew motor skill and is using repetition to train the skill using thespreadsheet mode will give the best feedback at a glance. When a studentis just looking for feedback on a specific swing or metric that animatedmodes will offer just the right amount of feedback. The animated mode isgood for a small number of swings in a tight feedback loop and thespreadsheet mode is good for a large number of repetitive swings with abroad range of feedback.

The info menu offers access to videos, articles, and diagrams to explainor troubleshoot any details that may need to be understood by the user.The videos are in a storytelling structure so the user can build thebest possible memories to assist in the experience. The graphicanimations, charts, graphs and the layout of the user interface havebeen design to offer multiple levels of information displayed in a veryintuitive manner so the student can focus on what is relevant for theirlearning and not get distracted with unnecessary feedback.

The invention has been described in reference to golf, but it is not solimited. In particular, the invention can be applied to motion analysisfor other sports. With modifications to the definition of motionsegments and disqualification rules, the swing can be used to detect keymovements in other sports and activities, such as:

-   -   The tennis serve has address, backward, forward and finish        segments, and impact of the racket with the ball. Hip action        plays an important part in the power and flight of the serve.    -   The baseball and softball swing has address, slight backward,        forward and finish segments, and impact of the bat with the        ball. Hip action plays an important part in the power and flight        of the ball.    -   The hockey slap shot has address, backward, forward and finish        segments, and impact of the stick with the puck. Hip action        plays an important part in the power and flight of the shot.    -   Football punting and placekicking both have address, backward,        forward and finish segments, and impact of the foot with the        ball. Hip action plays an important part in the power and flight        of the ball.    -   Soccer has address, backward, forward and finish segments, and        impact of the foot with the ball. Hip action plays an important        part in the power and flight of the ball.    -   Martial arts, boxing, punching, kicking actions all involve        sequencing of the hips to produce power. These actions can be        recognized with the golf swing recognizer.    -   Fitness, training, cross fit, and gymnastic activities all have        motion that requires proper turns, flexibility, stabilization,        and other movements that can be detected and monitored with        recognition algorithms similar the golf swing recognizer.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materialssimilar to or equivalent to those described herein can be used in thepractice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods, andmaterials are described below. All publications, patent applications,patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated byreference in their entirety to the extent allowed by applicable law andregulations. In case of conflict, the present specification, includingdefinitions, will control.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it istherefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made tothe appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicatethe scope of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art that havethe disclosure before them will be able to make modifications andvariations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

1. A method of analyzing a golfer's swing, comprising: (a) positioning amobile computing device near a golfer's hips, wherein the mobilecomputing device has internal accelerometers that measure accelerationin three perpendicular axes; (b) having the golfer take a swing at agolf ball; (c) having the mobile computing device's microphone listenfor the sound of the impact of the golf ball and the golf club; (d)using the mobile computing device's accelerometers and internal logic todetermine: (i) a backswing hip angle; (ii) the point in time at whichthe back swing hip angle is reached; (iii) an impact hip angle taken atthe time of impact of the golf ball and the golf club as determined bythe mobile computing device's microphone; (iv) the point in time atwhich the impact hip angle is reached; (v) a follow through hip angle;(vi) the point in time at which the follow through hip angle is reached;and (vii) hip acceleration and deceleration through the golf swing. 2.The method of claim 1, farther comprising: (e) having the mobilecomputing device's display screen display one or both of: (i) thebackswing, impact and follow through hip angles during the golf swing;or (ii) a continuous plot of the changing hip angle through the swingtogether with hip acceleration and deceleration through the swing. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device is an iPhone.4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: (i) having the mobilecomputing device determine the tempo of the swing, wherein the tempo ofthe swing is the ratio of backswing time to downswing time; and (ii)displaying the tempo of the swing on the mobile computing device'sdisplay screen.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein (e)(i) and (e)(ii) aresimultaneously displayed together on the display screen of the mobilecomputing device.
 6. The method of claim 2, further comprising: (i)having the mobile computing device determine the point of maximum swingspeed through the swing; and (ii) displaying the point of maximum swingspeed on the mobile computing device's display screen.
 7. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the backswing, impact, and follow through hip anglesare displayed on an animated model.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinpositioning a mobile computing device near a golfer's hips comprisesplacing the mobile computing device in the user's pants pocket.
 9. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: (i) repeating the method of claim1 for a second golf swing; and (ii) displaying the swing information asset forth in claim 2 for the first and second golf swings simultaneouslyon the mobile computing device screen, thus allowing the golfer tocompare the first and second swings.
 10. A mobile computing device-basedsystem for analyzing a golfer's swing, comprising: (a) a mobilecomputing device; (b) a microphone in the mobile computing device; (c)internal accelerometers in the mobile computing device that measureacceleration in three perpendicular axes; (d) a computer-based system inthe mobile computing device for using the microphone to listen for thesound of the impact of a golf ball and a golf club; and (e) acomputer-based system in the mobile computing device for using theaccelerometers and internal logic to determine: (i) a backswing hipangle; (ii) the point in time at which the back swing hip angle isreached; (iii) an impact hip angle taken at the time of impact of thegolf ball and the golf club as determined by the mobile computingdevice's microphone; (iv) the point in time at which the impact hipangle is reached; (v) a follow through hip angle; (vi) the point in timeat which the follow through hip angle is reached; and (vii) hipacceleration and deceleration through the golf swing.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, further comprising: (a) a computer-based system in the smartphone for displaying one or both of: (i) the backswing, impact andfollow through hip angles during the golf swing; or (ii) a continuousplot of the changing hip angle through the swing together with hipacceleration and deceleration through the swing.
 12. The system of claim10, wherein the mobile computing device is an iPhone.
 13. The system ofclaim 10, further comprising: (a) a computer-based system in the mobilecomputing device for: (i) determining the tempo of the swing, whereinthe tempo of the swing is the ratio of backswing time to downswing time;and (ii) displaying the tempo of the swing on the mobile computingdevice's display screen.
 14. The system of claim 10, further comprising:(a) a computer-based system in the mobile computing device for: (i)determining the point of maximum swing speed through the swing; and (ii)displaying the point of maximum swing speed on the mobile computingdevice's display screen.
 15. The system of claim 10, further comprising:(a) a computer-based system in the mobile computing device for: (i)recording the information as set forth in claim 10 for first and secondgolf swings; and (ii) displaying the information as described in claim10 for the first and second golf swings simultaneously on the mobilecomputing device screen, thus allowing the golfer to compare first andsecond swings.
 16. A mobile computing device-based system for analyzinga golfer's swing, comprising: a. mobile computing device; b. internalaccelerometers in the mobile computing device that measure accelerationin a plurality of axes c. a computer-based system in the mobilecomputing device for using the accelerometers and internal logic todetermine an objective measure of a golf swing.